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In the spotlight with Innovative Technology

Each week we interview one of our members to find out a bit more about them and their work. This week we're speaking with payment and transaction specialists, Innovative Technology.

What does your organisation do?

Our core business at Innovative Technology (ITL) is automated transactions. Our aim is to ensure we provide customers with the ability to automate payments and transactions in the most business efficient and cost-effective way, in order to meet the needs and demands of the market and help our customers stay ahead of the game.

We have been in the cash handling industry for an impressive 27 years. During that time, we have grown to become one of the leading providers of cash handling technology in the world; specialising in banknote validation and recycling technology, coin recycling, coupon and ticket printing products and emerging payment technologies including cashless payment options. Our banknote validators handle transactions every day for some of the world’s leading companies.

What do you think is currently the biggest issue facing the digital and tech industry?

Developing new technologies at a rapid rate but not being able to integrate them into existing products currently seems to be a major issue for the tech and digital industry.

So too is sourcing the right talent. A big challenge for tech start-ups is acquiring and retaining talent due to the fierce competition in the industry.

What is your organisation’s biggest achievement?

From humble beginnings to rapid expansion to become a large multinational company with ten office locations and a global network of over 25 Trading Partners, – the successful global organisation we are today is our greatest achievement. Our chairman and founder, David Bellis MBE designed his first payment device in his leaky garage in Royton, then went on to form a number of local companies before founding Innovative Technology.

Working to give customers and the industry the products they need and want and responding directly to the numerous changes the industry has faced, contributes directly to our success. Innovation is key to ITL’s growth. Our ability to continuously innovate adds value for our customers and sets us apart from the competition.

Over the years our success has been recognised through the numerous awards and accreditations we have received, including five Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, named the 13th fastest growing private company in the Sunday Times BDO Profit Track in 2014 and last year we gained Investors in People accreditation.

What would you consider to be your organisations biggest challenge?

Ensuring we remain innovative in ever-changing market demands, staying ahead of the competition and delivering products that customers need and want.

Talent is one of the main drivers of innovation. Attracting and nurturing young, future talent is something we place a lot of importance on at ITL. We offer a range of opportunities including graduate positions, industrial placements, 3-month summer internships and summer/work experience across STEM-related disciplines. True to our values, we have a ‘collaborative’ approach, where students are given a real insight into their prospective future career.

We employ over 400 staff worldwide, and it is our highly skilled workforce that allows us to continue to grow and innovate. Made up of a unique and diverse range of talented individuals we are true to our name, recruiting the very best people in every field to allow us to remain innovative and develop products of the future. We invest substantially in our staff, the training and development of our greatest asset is vital to our sustained success, also helpings us to both retain staff and be an attractive place to work.

What do you think the future looks like for Manchester’s digital and tech sector?

Manchester continues to lead the way when it comes to computer science, software programming, development and engineering. It is one of the UK's fastest growing cities as well as one of Europe’s largest creative, digital and technology hubs.

As investment in Manchester and its transport network increases, the city will continue to cement itself as a major digital centre. Manchester already has a large concentration of creative and tech companies and we think it will remain an attractive place for start-ups in the future. We are proud to be based in Oldham, just a quick stop from Manchester City Centre.

Tell us something we might not know about your company?

Our Head Office is based in Oldham, Great Manchester!
Plus, we have international offices in ten locations across the globe.

The Research & Development team, based in the UK, has quadrupled in size over recent years. Consisting of Design Engineers, Material Scientists, Mathematicians, Physicists, Software & Electronic Engineers – this is a core team accountable for new product development.

Our Chairman David Bellis is an MBE and at 81 years of age shows no sign of retiring and still comes into the office every day!
We are also responsible for the creation of our own Spectral Technology which is a unique technological milestone in banknote validation. This technology includes full spectral imaging to validate the authenticity of banknotes to offer exceptional protection against fraudulent and stained notes and best in class performance.

Like our name suggests we are an innovative, forward-thinking organisation with state-of-the-art products and are lucky enough to have some of the best talent in the region working for us.

If you would like to speak to Innovative Technology, contact them here.

If you'd like to see your business feature In The Spotlight, contact thom@manchesterdigital.com to make arrangements.

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